Check Engine Light - Have Codes What's Next?

[cutlassvillager]

I was driving my parents' 2000 Mercury Villager towing a 14.5ft Sea Nymph to storage for the winter. I was in somewhat of a rush to get to the place on time, so the vehicle was driven pretty hard on the trip there. It is about a 20 mile trip each way on 55 mph roads. I dropped off the boat and continued home.

About 5 miles from home the engine started to run rough then the "service engine soon" light began to flash. I pulled over, turned off the car for about 30 seconds, then started it up and accelerated out onto the road. I made it to about 30 MPH, then the stuttering began and the "service engine soon" light began blinking again. I pulled over and let the car sit for about five minutes. I then started the van back up and the "service engine soon" light was lit sold, but the vehicle seemed to drive normal. It drove fine the rest of the way home and didn't seem to have any power loss.

When I got home I borrowed my neighbors OBDII reader to get the codes. I got the following:
P0301 (Cylinder 1 misfire)
P0325 (Knock sensor code)
P0325
P0301

A few more details that may help:
The engine in this generation Villager is a Nissan 3.3L (VG33E). The van just turned over to 94,000 miles. It was relatively low on gas. When I left it said I had about 59 miles to empty, and when I got back it was at about 14 miles to empty. The van sits a lot and is usually driven on short city trips (~10 minute drives) with the occasional long trip here and there. Of recent, the van has usually been filled up part way and the last time gas was added was probably around a month ago. I believe the spark plugs were replaced at 60,000 miles, but I am not positive.

Sorry for the long post, but I felt the more detail the better. Could this be from bad, low, or old gas? What next steps should I take before the vehicle is taken to the mechanic? I forgot to reset the codes before returning the OBDII reader.

 

[spasm3]

i would check the usual things, start with the fuel filter, check the plugs and ignition.

 

[bustednutz]

Clear the codes with the scanner. See if they become a recurring incidence. Then seek answers to the problems.

 

[Alan]

Clean the MAF.

 

[cutlassvillager]

Great thanks for the input. I am going to be at my parents' house this weekend so I will clear the codes and clean the mass air flow sensor then go from there. I'll probably do the fuel filter at the same time as I don't know its history. What should I use to clean the MAF? Throttle body cleaner? Would brake cleaner work?

 

[punisher]

Clear codes. Add some fresh gas. Don't take any other action until it acts up again.

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: cutlassvillager
What should I use to clean the MAF? Throttle body cleaner? Would brake cleaner work?

NO, and NO. Use MAF cleaner sold by CRC. However, from the code, it probably is not needed.

 

[cutlassvillager]

I added gas, cleared the codes and took a similar trip (minus the boat) and everything seemed to run fine and the light hasn't come back on. Thanks for the input.

 

[defektes]

No brake kleen for maf's, unless you want to replace it.

 

[wiswind]

A flashing CEL is an indication of a failure that COULD cause damage to the catalytic converter(s) if you continue to drive.
A misfire code is one of those failures.
IF the code is caused by a spark issue....and is severe enough, you could be putting some raw gasoline out into the exhaust, which will cause the catalytic converter to severely overheat.

You could have had something as simple as a bit of dirt get into one of the fuel injectors, causing it to not spray enough (or any) fuel, which would cause a misfire.
Then the dirt cleared up (disolved and/or passed on through).

I would NOT worry about it unless the issue comes back.

It is also very likely that the knock sensor code came from the misfire.
Very common for 1 problem to trigger other codes.
Usually (but not always) the first code is the one to focus on.
Also, the misfire code was one that you could feel as you were driving.
The knock sensor would not cause you to feel any rough running.